1. Field of the Invention
This invention most generally relates to furniture which rocks and/or swings and more particularly to the mechanism or apparatus which permits the rocking and/or swinging motion. Most particularly this invention relates to a swing rocker apparatus which can be adapted to and attached to most any type of furniture piece thereby converting it to a rocking or swinging furniture piece without noticeably or appreciably altering the basic appearance and aesthetics thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is no other mechanism or apparatus known to the inventor hereof which can be used to convert, or which has been used to convert, for example, a straight wooden chair which does not swing or rock (in other words is rigid relative to the surface on which it rests) and which has the standard type of base assembly having legs and stretcher components and a seat and back assembly, into a rocker/glider furniture piece.
There are rocking chairs which have the standard and well known rocker members affixed to the bottom of the usual four legs. These rockers and other well known types of rockers are very disinctive in appearance and do not nor could they possibly look like, for example a basic four legged straight backed wooden chair which might be found in the kitchen of a home or in the office of a professional person. Further, these known types of rocking chairs/gliders are frequently not used where there may be the potential for injury, especially to small children who frequently play on the floor. Hands and feet etc. are easily caught under the rocker members or in the glider assembly.
It would be desirable to have a mechanism or apparatus which could be adapted to most standard types of furniture pieces converting them to so-called rockers. The mechanism should permit, or provide for, safe and pleasurable rocking and/or swinging. It would be desirable to be able to so adapt such furniture pieces as home or office type chairs, made of wood or other materials, sofas, couches, and even baby or infant pieces such as cribs, highchairs etc. With the apparatus disclosed and described herein, the above non-exclusive list of furniture pieces could be fitted so as to provide for safe, pleasurable rocking. It is obvious that not only could existing furniture pieces be fitted (or retrofitted) with the instant apparatus but also known designs as well as new designs, currently found in or planned for a rigid or non-rocking mode, could be manufactured having the apparatus of the instant invention incorporated therein. With the instant apparatus, the furniture piece would look substantially the same as the rigid piece. Applicant's invention has non-obvious features and combinations of features all of which make it new and advantageous over the known prior art. None of the known prior art have the advantages of and the features of Applicant's invention as disclosed herein.
It should be noted that during the conception and the development of the apparatus, considerable emphasis was placed on concerns of safety. Because of the unique design of the swing rocker apparatus, the well known rocker members of known types of rocking chairs and the heavy glider mechanism of the gliding type of chair have been eliminated.